Marry Me
by wldct6
Summary: Set in the future, Booth and Brennan are in an established relationship. Booth decides to try to convince Brennan of all the "logical" reasons they should get married.
1. My Mom

Disclaimer: I own a TV and a computer and some furniture. I don't even own my own car, so there's no way I own Bones.

A/N: This is my first fanfic. I've been reading them for awhile trying to think of what to write myself and this idea came to me while waiting for my food at Pizza Hut. Apparently hunger is a good creative tool. Please, let me know what you think. I have ideas for several chapters after this, so let me know if it's worth continuing. Thanks for reading!

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Dr. Temperance Brennan heard familiar footsteps walking towards her office. She glanced down at the clock on her computer and realized it was already six o'clock. That was late. When the person who belonged to those footsteps finally made it to her office she said "You're late," while shutting down her computer and packing a few case folders into her bag.

"Sorry, Bones," Special Agent Seeley Booth replied. "My mother called. And you know how she can be. It took me awhile to get her off the phone." He pulled her coat off the hook and held it open for her as she approached. She turned off her office light, shut the door and the two left for the parking garage.

"And how is your mother? I haven't spoken to her lately," Brennan asked. She had been worried when she and Booth had first announced their relationship that Anne Booth would hate her. First, for the fact that by the time she and Seeley had announced that they were together, Brennan was already three months pregnant. Second, for the fact that they had been together romantically almost a year before they actually announced it. And finally for the fact that Brennan made it perfectly clear to Anne that while she welcomed a life-long relationship with Seeley and had no intentions of ever leaving him or their child, she would never actually marry the man. "It has nothing to do with Seeley and everything to do with the fact that marriage is an archaic ritual that truly serves no purpose in modern society than to fulfill social norms," she had told Anne and thankfully Anne had left it at that. Or so she thought.

"Well, she's harping on the marriage thing again," Booth said absently.

"Again?" Brennan repeated after him. She stopped walking and said, "I didn't realize she'd ever harped on it. I know she asked when she first found out about us, but she hasn't said anything since." When Booth remained silent, she added, "At least not to me."

"Well, she tends to bring it up… Occasionally," he said slowly, as if choosing his words carefully.

"How often is 'occasionally?'" Brennan asked, not sure if she should be annoyed that he kept this from her or thankful that she hasn't had to worry about it precisely because choose to keep it from her.

"Well, typically around Christmas, my birthday—because I'm not getting any younger, her birthday—because she's not getting any younger, Parker, Chris and Dani's birthdays—I guess because they aren't getting any younger either, and whenever Jared breaks up with another girlfriend—because that means, once again, I'm her only hope. So, 'occasionally,'" he said finishing off with a grin.

"Seeley Booth, that's six definite times per year and at least three to five other times, depending on how long it takes Jared to get bored with whatever woman he happens to be with. That's potentially once a month. I don't think that qualifies as occasionally," she said, leaning towards being annoyed about the whole situation.

"Well, don't worry about it. I always tell her that you haven't changed your mind and we argue about it for awhile longer and then we get off the phone and I wait a month for another call. No big deal."

"Of course it's a big deal. Your own mother is harassing you, trying to get you married. And you didn't bother to tell the woman who's at the center of this controversy," she argued, definitely getting annoyed.

"What? You want to help deal with this?" Booth questioned her.

"Yes," she responded quickly, not even noticing the glint in his eyes.

"Then marry me," he stated, then waited for her response.

She just stood there for a second with her brow furrowed and her mouth hanging open. "No. Just because your mother wants us to get married doesn't mean I want us to get married," she almost yelled.

"Well, you said you wanted to help. Marry me and we won't have to deal with my mother harassing us about getting married anymore," he gave her his best charm smile. He knew she didn't want to get married, but he felt that it never hurt to ask and had taken to asking periodically just to see if she would ever change her mind.

"No. I haven't changed my mind. And frankly, she's never harassed me about anything, so there's not much incentive in it for me to marry you," she gave him her answer in her best "logical scientist" voice.

Booth smiled down at her and said, "There's plenty of incentives for you to marry me. That's just not one of them."

"Oh really?" she questioned skeptically.

"Sure. But we can discuss that later. Right now, we need to pick up the kids and get dinner. I'm starving."


	2. Parker, Christine and Danielle

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Bones.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and added this to their story alerts. Keep letting me know what you think. It helps, trust me. :) Also, I've changed the rating to T, simply because there's a little bit of kissing (nothing explicit) but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

* * *

"Can I go to school with Chris tomorrow, Mommy?" Danielle Booth looked up at Temperance Brennan with the same doe eyes that Brennan was sure she used herself on Booth all the time.

Brennan smiled and said softly, "You're not old enough yet, sweetheart. A couple more years and you can go to the elementary school, too."

"But Mommy," Dani whined, "I wanna go NOW!"

Brennan struggled not to laugh. She knew it would only encourage her daughter and she really wanted the three-year-old to go to sleep soon. "I understand that, but the elementary school isn't ready for you yet. Only for Chris. In a couple more years of pre-school they'll be ready for you." She could remember having a similar conversation with Christine, her now-five-year-old when she was three and realized that Parker got to go to school all day while she was stuck going part-time "with the babies" as Chris had put it.

"Well, why aren't they ready for me yet?" Dani asked with her already patented attitude. At three, she had no patience for people that couldn't keep up with her, physically or intellectually—and Brennan was quickly discovering that this impatience extended to the education system.

"They just aren't, sweetie. But it's ok. You and me can learn on our own until they are, right?"

"Ok, mommy, but you really don't have anything to learn, so you can just teach me, k?" Dani settled.

"Who says I don't have anything to learn?" Brennan questioned.

"Daddy and Parks. They say you're the smartest person in the whoooooole world," Dani announced proudly.

Brennan smiled at her daughter and said, "Well that's very nice of them, but there's always more to learn, even for me. Now it's really time for you to go to sleep, kiddo."

"Ok, mommy. 'Night." And with that Dani rolled onto her side and was out like a light.

Brennan shook her head at the ease with which her child managed to fall asleep, as she turned out the light and walked down the hall to her other daughter's room. Booth was just walking out from tucking her in, and said, "She's just waiting on a hug from 'Mommy' then she's ready to sleep." He tried to pass by her to head for Dani's room but Brennan stopped him.

"She's already asleep," she whispered. Booth shook his head with a smile, amazed at his youngest daughter's sleeping habits, as Brennan continued. "I'll say good-night to Chris and then meet you downstairs. Maybe we can discuss some of those 'incentives' you mentioned earlier?"

Booth smiled, knowing that she was bound to reject just about all of the incentives he had come up with so far. He figured most, if not all, were long-shots and just bordering on asinine, but they were logical—sort of—and he thought it'd be worth a shot. And who knows, maybe, if he bothers her enough, she'll marry him just to shut him up.

After hugging Christine good-night, Brennan made one more stop at Parker's room, and found him sitting at his computer. "Try not to stay up too late tonight. School does start in the morning," she reminded him with a smile.

"I know Momma Bones. I've just got some last minute editing to do on that summer project they assigned. I want to make sure my writing is as good as my science," he explained.

Brennan smiled. She truly was as proud of Parker as if he was her own son. He had moved in when he was ten, shortly after Christine was born. Rebecca and Drew were getting ready to move to North Carolina for Drew's job and Rebecca actually gave Parker the choice of coming with her and Drew, or staying with his dad and Bones. Parker picked staying with his Dad. It had been hard on all of them, for various reasons, but it had worked out. Parker was now starting his second year at Thomas Jefferson High School in Virginia. It was the best high school in the country and had been for several years, well-known for its rigorous science and technology program. When Parker had shown an aptitude and interest in science, Booth and Brennan decided to move the family just outside of Washington, DC into northern Virginia in order to ensure his eligibility to TJ, as it was known. When he was accepted into the elite program, they couldn't have been more proud. It was tough work, but they all knew it would be worth it. "Ok, sweetie. I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early," she finished with a smirk.

Parker groaned when reminded about the early morning—he was never destined to be a true morning person—but took the statement for what it was, a good natured tease.

* * *

When Brennan entered the living room, Booth had already poured two glasses of wine, put soft music on the stereo and turned down the lights. "Are you trying to seduce me, Agent Booth?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and a half-smile.

"Is it working?" he replied with his patented charm-smile.

"Maybe," she snorted. She took one of the wine glasses from him and joined him on the couch, sitting sideways, and laying her feet in his lap. "So what are these incentives that you are just soooo convinced will change my mind about marriage?"

"Well, I'll be honest. I'm kind of making them up as I go. You know, seeing what we do on a regular basis and then determining how marriage could make that better."

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, suddenly unsure of herself.

"No, not at all," he said in a hurry. "But you've always said 'there's always room for improvement,' right?"

"Yes," she said slowly, not sure where this was going.

"Well, I'm just looking for ways to make our already wonderful life even better."

"Okay," she said, accepting his answer as logical and valid. "So, how about you fill me in on the incentives then?"

"Well…" he started. He wasn't sure if she was going to laugh at him, or just think he was insane and walk away from him, but he had to give it a go. "The kids," he said bluntly.

"The kids?" she repeated. "What's wrong with the kids?"

"Well, Parker's already in high school, but Chris and Dani are just starting elementary school and pre-school respectively. I think it would be easier on them if their mother and father were married."

"'Easier,'" she repeated. She felt almost like a parrot, she was repeating him so much. "How, exactly, would it be easier?" Brennan wasn't sure it would be easier or not on the girls, but she wanted to see how he would explain it.

"Well, there wouldn't be any questions. They would never have to explain to their teachers why their mommy has a different last name from them or explain to their friends that mommy and daddy might live together but they aren't married. Which would really help with the parents too, because what parent wants to try to tell their kids that pre-marital sex is bad when you've got members of the PTA who are living together and have kids together but are still not married?"

Brennan raised an eyebrow at her partner. They still called each other partners, they just had a broader meaning for it now. "First, of all, even if we got married, and I am not saying that we will, I would keep my last name. My professional life is built on the name Brennan and I can't change it now." Brennan shifted so that she was kneeling next to Booth on the couch. "Second, I highly doubt children are going ask about our marital status any time soon. They will hear Chris and Dani talking about mommy and daddy and assume they are married. By the time they get inquisitive enough to ask, they will probably be old enough to understand that not all parents are married to each other. It's a basic fact in today's society and is becoming less of an ostracizing factor." By the end of her speech she was almost whispering, and she leaned in to kiss him. It was soft and sweet and Booth pulled back.

"Are you trying to distract me?" he smirked.

"Is it working?" she replied with a seductive smile.

"Yep."


	3. Your Dad

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately I still don't own Bones.**

* * *

Booth was tired. It had been over a week since Bones had rejected his latest marriage proposal—such as it was—and things had been tense between them. He wasn't sure why. They had gone to bed that night completely in love, in sync, in paradise. Then they woke up. She was tired and cranky and had been ever since. All Booth wanted to do was get back the beautiful, caring, loving woman he had a week ago. That, however, did not seem likely to happen.

He walked up the stairs to the raised lounge area of the Jeffersonian Lab. He was ready to leave for the day. It had been another long day and he was ready to relax. He knew, however, that with Bones still on the platform—and in her latest snit—there was no hope of going home anytime soon. Once she was done on the platform it would be paperwork in the office, then maybe—just maybe—they could go home. At least, for his sanity's sake, Parker was still at football practice and the girls were occupied in Bones' office doing homework. _Who'd ever heard of homework for a three-year-old anyway?_ He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the other man on the platform until he spoke.

"Hey, Booth."

Booth nearly dropped the coffee pot he was holding as he spun around. "Max! What are you doing here?" The question came out as an accusation.

Max smirked. It was nice to know he could still get to some people. "Well, I just finished up with the after school program and thought we could talk." Even all these years later, when he could get a real job teaching science in a real school Max chose to stay at the Jeffersonian.

"Talk?" Booth asked suspiciously. Max Keenan didn't talk. He acted. "About what?"

"When are you gonna make an honest woman outta my daughter?"

_And right for the kill shot_, Booth though sarcastically. "Hey, you already know. I've asked. I've cajoled. I've even come close to begging—"

"Close?" Max interrupted.

"Rangers don't beg," Booth responded with aggravation. "She's the one that keeps saying no."

"I had to beg Ruth. And as hard as it is for a Ranger to beg, it's just as a hard for a career criminal. We don't beg, or even ask. We take. So maybe you should consider actually begging," Max finished with a wide grin.

"And maybe you should consider butting out," neither man had seen or heard Temperance enter the lounge. But there she stood, hands on hips, blue eyes like ice—clearly angry. "Don't!" She almost yelled when both men opened their mouths to say something. "This conversation you two have been having is OVER. Seeley, we are going home." When both men just stood frozen in place, she slightly raised her voice, "Now." With that she turned around and headed back down the stairs, as if she didn't care whether or not Booth followed.

* * *

That night, after the girls had been tucked in and Parker reminded not to stay up too late, Brennan entered the living room to find her partner lounging on the couch. He looked up warily at her, wondering what was going to happen next. He knew she was annoyed, but not sure whether that meant angry. "I'm sorry?" he asked, hoping that would be an appropriate statement.

"You're not sure?" she responded. Her tone of voice said that she was beyond just annoyed. This did not bode well for him.

"No, I'm sure. I'm definitely sorry."

"For what?" Brennan wasn't sure if she should believe him or not. Especially since he clearly wasn't sure whether or not he should be apologizing in the first place.

"For having that conversation with Max at the Jeffersonian."

"So, had you been elsewhere, somewhere I wouldn't overhear, it would have been ok?" She was getting pissed off at this whole marriage situation. Why couldn't everyone leave well enough alone?

"No! That's not what I mean. I'm sorry it happened at all. But maybe you should take this as a hint," had he been looking in her eyes when he said this and not at the floor, he would have stopped there and probably even tried to take it back. But he wasn't looking at her, so he pressed on, "I'm not the only one concerned about us being married. My mom is and clearly so is your dad. Maybe we should get married so that he stops worrying about you." He finally looked at her and realized that maybe he'd gone too far.

"Seeley Booth, that is the dumbest thing I think I've ever heard. I've heard a lot of dumb things over the years, but this takes the cake." Brennan spun around and headed for the stairs.

_Takes the cake? Where the hell did she learn that one?_ "Where did you learn that?" he asked curiously, following her to their bedroom. Probably not what he should have said, given the situation, but whenever she used clichés and slang correctly it always threw him off-balance.

"Parker taught me," she hissed right before slamming the bedroom door in his face and locking it.

He stared down at the locked handle and said, "Could you please let me in so I can go to bed, too?"

"No," she said through the door petulantly.

"Please? I love you and I'm sorry," he knew where this was headed and it was not going to be fun. "Really sorry. It was a big mistake to even have that conversation—even if your dad started it. And I only made it worse by agreeing with him." _A mistake I won't make again anytime soon, for sure_, he thought to himself.

"No," she repeated. "There's a perfectly good guest room and a perfectly good couch downstairs. Take your pick." Now she just sounded whiny.

He thought for a moment and suddenly realized his error. She'd been cranky lately. She's been tired. She even ate pie at lunch today. The only time he'd ever seen her eat pie was when she was pregnant. And now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember the last time she'd gotten her cycle. _Seeley you're an idiot. Of course she's pregnant again. It's not like you two were doing anything to prevent it. What were you thinking? _He sighed. "Can I at least have my toothbrush?"

* * *

**A/N: I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I re-wrote it three times and I'm still not sure. The whole pregnancy thing wasn't planned, it's just kind of where my muse took me. We'll see how that works out (since even I don't know at this point). Please let me know what you think. Good? Bad? Ugly?**


	4. Explanations and the Game

**Disclaimer: No, I still don't own Bones.**

* * *

The next morning, Brennan walked into the kitchen to see Booth standing over the stove cooking. He turned around as she sat at the table and placed a plate of bacon in front of her. She looked down at the bacon strips and back up at Booth. "You know." It wasn't a question. She typically never ate red meat, and rarely ate any other meat, but when she was pregnant she craved bacon. Normally, she found it disgusting, but it was like those women who craved mint chocolate chip ice cream and pickles. Absolutely revolting, but you couldn't help craving it.

"I figured. With the way you've been acting, and the fact that you've been eating pie at the diner lately…" he trailed off. "Do you know for sure yet?"

"No. I've got an appointment with the doctor today."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"You want to?" she asked uncertainly.

He smiled at her, while taking pancakes off the griddle. "Have I missed any of your appointments yet when it comes to pregnancy or possible pregnancy?"

"Yes." Booth got an offended look in his face, so she continued. "When I went to get the blood test to find out if I was pregnant with Chris. You didn't come with me then."

"Because you didn't tell me," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Other than that I've been to all of them. Even when you went to get tested for Dani, I was there. Ok? I want to be involved. You know this."

Brennan smiled. "Just making sure. My appointment is at 9, so I figure we can just go into work afterwards?"

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

As much as Booth wanted to be involved in his partner's third pregnancy, he suddenly remembered his strong dislike for the doctor's office. It was kind of scary being surrounded by pregnant women and there wasn't anything for him to read to distract him. All the magazines were _Parenting_, and _Pregnancy_ and _Baby_. No _Sports Illustrated_ or _Men's Health_. Nothing remotely interesting.

"Would you stop fidgeting?" Brennan hissed. "It won't be that much longer before we can go back."

"I can't help it. As much as I want to be here, it really bothers me being here… And yes I know how irrational that is," he added before she could say it herself.

"Miss Brennan?" The nurse called.

"Doctor," Booth responded automatically as the two stood up.

"Sorry, Dr. Brennan, the doctor is ready for you and your husband now."

_Crap_, Booth thought. _One more person steps in the marriage crap_.

"We're not married," Booth and Brennan replied simultaneously.

"Oh, um, sorry," the nurse said nervously.

Booth just shook his head and motioned for her to lead them to the examination room. They followed the nurse into a small room and she took Brennan's vitals while they waited for the doctor. Booth stood in the corner watching over the proceedings. When the nurse left, Brennan turned to him.

"You don't have to stand guard like some lord protector, you know. Have a seat. Relax." She was already nervous about possibly being pregnant, his skulking in the corner wasn't helping.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just nervous," he admitted shyly.

"Why?" she responded in confusion. "You're a great father. You've done this before. You have no reason to be nervous."

"You're a great mother. You've done this before, too. Does that make you any less nervous?"

She sighed. It was really a pain sometimes when he voiced her thoughts without any clues given by her. Sometimes she thought he knew her too well. The truth was though, as she looked at his reassuring smile, she wouldn't trade him or his over-protective mind-reading ways for anything.

Before she could say anything, the doctor knocked on the door and entered. "Good morning, Dr. Brennan. Agent Booth, good to see you again."

"You, too, Dr. Sheppard," Booth replied. Dr. Sheppard was an older woman with graying hair and a warm personality. She also really knew her stuff, thus allowing Brennan and Booth to trust her with the birth of both of their daughters, and maybe a third child.

The doctor went through the litany of questions and then had blood drawn from Brennan's right arm. "We'll send this out to the lab and you should have an answer in a day or two. We'll give you a call as soon as we get the results. Make sure to check out before you leave," with that, Dr. Sheppard left the room.

As Brennan gathered her belongings, Booth turned to her with an idea. "You know most people already think we're married anyway. It would cut down on explanations if we actually were."

Brennan rolled her eyes and smiled. "You just don't give up do you?"

Booth snorted. "Are you seriously asking me this? Because I'm pretty sure you already know the answer."

"Just because everyone thinks we're married, doesn't mean we need to be. We could just let them think whatever they want to think," she said while laughing. She approached the receptionist and checked out. She took Booth's hand as they exited the office and headed towards his FBI issued SUV.

Since Brennan appeared to currently be in a good mood, he decided to make a suggestion. "Let's make it a game," he said bluntly.

"What?"

"Let's make it a game," he repeated more insistently as he opened her door for her. She had long since given up protesting his chivalrous ways.

"Make what a game? Seeing who already thinks we're married?" She wasn't sure how that was supposed to be a game, but figured Booth would probably explain once he got in the SUV.

"No. Let's make this whole marriage proposal thing between us a game," he clarified as he started the vehicle and headed toward the Jeffersonian.

"Ok," she said with uncertainty. "How, exactly, would this be a game?"

"I give you what I believe to be a logical reason for us getting married, and you give your equally logical reason as to why that's not a valid reason for getting married."

"Ok," she said cautiously. "As long as you know that I won't actually be marrying you."

"We'll see. You might get won over. Then you'll be Mrs. Seeley Booth," he finished with his most charming smile.

"Yes, I'll be Mrs. Seeley Booth when Hell freezes over," she responded sarcastically.

"Just wait for winter, Bones. Hell, Michigan, I'm sure freezes over every winter."

She rolled her eyes. "Ok, so what's your first 'logical reason'?"

"I already gave it to you. People already think we're married, and you so logically responded that it didn't matter what other people thought. So that was your practice. I'll randomly approach you with other reasons. It's only fair," he explained.

"Only fair? How is it fair to surprise me with marriage proposals that you know I'll turn down?" She asked with mild frustration.

"Well, your brain works faster than just about anybody else's, at least among the people I know. So you can come up with a response in no time. If you can't come up with a response within thirty seconds, then I know I'll have actually gotten to you," he paused for a moment before adding, "Then we might be making headway towards you being Mrs. Booth," with a smile.

Brennan rolled her eyes again—a seemingly constant state for her this morning. "Yeah, well, we'll see if you can actually bump me."

"I think you mean stump you, and yes we will," he smiled, amused that there were still slang terms she didn't get right.

"I knew as soon as I said it that it didn't sound right," she muttered. "Lunch?" she asked as she got out of the SUV at the Jeffersonian.

"I'll be in at one to pick you up. Love you!" he called.

"Love you too… Even if you are being insufferable with your constant inquiring into changing our marital status," she finished with a smile and shut the door.

Booth smiled and shook his head as he put the car back into drive and headed for the Hoover Building.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, Hell, Michigan is a real place, Mapquest it if you don't believe me :) Let me know what you all think about the story so far, this chapter, where it's going, etc. Thank you to everyone who's already reviewed. They really do help alot. Thanks!**


	5. Angela

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Bones... How unfortunate...

A/N: Finally, I was able to post this. As always, let me know what ya think!

* * *

It had been three weeks since Booth came up with the marriage proposal game and he'd had yet to approach Brennan with another "logical reason." She had since been back to the doctor—with Booth in tow, of course—and discovered she was indeed pregnant. She was currently eight weeks pregnant and the weird food cravings and crappy attitude had only gotten worse. She stared at her computer screen and sighed. Booth hadn't brought her a case all week, not that she was actually allowed in the field until after the baby was born, and she was completely unmotivated when it came to working on a limbo case or her next novel. Finally she pushed her chair back and decided to go see Angela. She still hadn't told anyone about the baby outside of Cullen—due to FBI regulations that pregnant women couldn't be in field—and wanted to tell her best friend the good news.

Angela looked up and smiled when Brennan walked in. "Hey, Sweetie. How are ya?" the artist asked cheerfully despite the obviously grumpy demeanor of her favorite forensic anthropologist. When Brennan plopped down into a chair, Angela got a worried look on her face and said, "By all means, have a seat. Tell Doctor Angela what's wrong."

Brennan got a confused look and asked, "Since when are you a doctor?" It came out snippy and Angela raised a brow. Brennan sighed. "Sorry, that came out wrong, but really, when did you become a doctor?"

Angela laughed and responded, "It's just a saying, sweetie. It means that you should tell me what's wrong and I'll try to help you." When Brenan just nodded, she continued, "So what's wrong?"

"I'm pregnant," Brennan blurted out. When Angela just looked at her, Brennan continued, "Which isn't a bad thing in itself. It's just the weird food cravings, and the hormonal attitude, and the whole marriage thing, and the fact—"

"Marriage thing?" Angela cut her off. "What marriage thing?"

"Oh, Booth has decided that he'd like to get married and he's pushing the issue. He's turned it into a game. He—"

"A game?" Angela squealed, interrupting again. When Brennan glared at her, Angela said, "Sorry. Please continue," and shut her mouth.

"He's going to give me what he conciders logical reasons for marriage, and then see if I can explain why it's not logical. It's just that, with everything else…" she trailed off.

"It's added pressure," Angela finished.

"Exactly," Brennan agreed. "But if it makes him happy, who am I to tell him to stop?"

"The woman he's constantly proposing to?" Angela offered.

Brennan smiled. "Well, yes, but it's not a problem for me. He's the one that will be constantly getting rejected. If he's okay with that, it's not my problem."

"Why not just say yes and put the man out of his misery?" Angela asked. Before Brennan could launch into an anthropological reason, she continued. "I mean, it could be fun. You two are practically already married and this will just be an excuse to have a big party," she finished, smiling at Brennan's scowl.

"I don't need an excuse to have a big party. I can afford to have one whenever," Brennan replied, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but _I'd _have fun with this," Angela explained, as if that was all the explanation needed.

"I think Angela might be on to something," Booth said with a smile, entering the office.

Brennan rolled her eyes again, and said, "Of course you do. She might be the only person on Earth who wants us married more than you do."

Booth laughed and sat down in the chair next to his partner. "Think about it, Bones. We can have this great party—"

"Just how long were you eavesdropping?" Brennan asked incredulously, thinking of Angela's first reason.

"Long enough," Booth replied without skipping a beat. "We can have the party. We get to dress up and drink really great wine and eat amazing food—"

"All of which can be accomplished without having to sign my life away," Brennan interjected.

"Plus," Booth continued, "You and Angela would have a blast shopping for dresses and flowers and wedding cakes and stuff."

Brennan's jaw dropped and she wrinkled her nose. _Her? Enjoy? Shopping?_ "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" She asked Booth.

"Yes. The woman who wants more than anything to please those she loves," he finished the sentence as more of a question than a statement.

Brennan rolled her eyes—working on a record today—and stood up. "Suddenly, I'm incredibly motivated to work in Bone Storage," she said to no one in particular.

"Hey," Booth cried as she walked to the door. "Pleasing those you love is a completely logical reason for doing something."

Brennan turned around and raised her eyebrows. "Sure, going out to a club when you really don't want to or buying gifts for someone you love is logical. Getting married because your best friend wants to go shopping and throw a party is not. In fact, it's completely illogical."

"So I guess that's a 'no?'" Booth asked, giving her a charming smile.

Brennan laughed. "That's definitely a 'no.' I love you, though," she added as a consolation.

Booth smiled. "I love you, too."

As Brennan reached the door, she stopped and turned back around, "Did you come here for a real reason? Or just to propose again?"

"Proposing marriage is a real reason, Bones. But I actually came for lunch," he said.

"Well, I was going to work in Bone Storage for a bit," she replied hesitantly.

"Come on, Bones. A bunch of dusty old skeletons or pie?" When she didn't respond, he added, "They'll probably be able to make you some bacon still."

"Damn cravings," she muttered. "Let me go grab my purse." With that she exited Angela's office.

Booth turned to Angela, "Thanks for trying."

Angela hadn't known about the game until Brennan told her, but she truly thought marriage would be good for her best friend. She smiled at Booth and told him, "I'm all for you two getting married, you know that. But Bren is her own person. I don't know if she'll ever say yes to marriage."

Booth laughed. "I'd be willing to bet a hundred on the fact that she won't."

"So why keep asking?" Angela asked, genuinely confused.

"Because I have faith in Bones. I had faith that one day she'd admit that love was more than just a chemical reaction and she did that almost as soon as we started dating. I had faith that one day she'd change her mind about children, and she did. There is always that chance, no matter how small, that she might change her mind about marriage, too," he explained.

"Well, good luck with that," Angela replied skeptically.

Brennan entered the office as Booth thanked Angela. After they left the office she asked, "What did you thank her for?"

"She wished me luck in getting you to marry me," he replied.

"Well, I don't believe in luck, but that might be the only thing that would get me to marry you. Pure dumb luck," she said with a broad smile so he would know she was teasing.

"Well, then it's a good thing I do believe in it," he said and kissed the side of her head as he put his arm around her. "It means I just might get my wish after all."


	6. Jack

****

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own Bones.

**A/N: I wasn't really planning on getting this done til the weekend, but it was either write this or read about the Populist Movement in 19th century America (yea Grad School). Can you imagine why writing this won? Yeah, me either. Of course, since I was writing this and simultaneously thinking about said Populist Movement, this may not be my best work, but as always, let me know what you think!**

* * *

It was an unseasonably warm afternoon for mid-October, so Booth and Brennan decided to take the kids on a picnic in Rock Creek Park. As they were unloading the car, Brennan realized that Halloween was only two weeks away and they had yet to discuss costumes for the kids. "What does everyone want to be for Halloween?" she asked as they walked towards the picnic tables.

"I'm going to be a reporter," Parker volunteered reluctantly.

"A reporter?" his parents asked simultaneously.

"Yeah, Hannah decided that we should go as a news crew for Halloween. She's decided that she's the cameraman—er, woman—Jake will be the sound guy, Lori is the producer and Kevin is going to be the lighting person. I told her we should be the FBI forensic team again, but she was all 'we went as that last year' and I was like, 'but it was such a hit,' and she's like, 'we went as what you wanted to be last year, this year it's my turn.' So I really didn't have a choice. And she thinks I'm the best looking so I had to be reporter," he added smugly.

"First of all 'she was all' and 'I was like' are not proper grammar, so don't let me hear those phrases again," Bones started. "Second, don't be so smug young man—"

"Yeah," Chris piped up. "She's your girlfriend, she has to think you're cute," she said, derisively.

Before Parker could retaliate, Brennan interrupted, "Be nice Christine Brennan or you won't have Halloween."

"Sorry mommy. Sorry Parker," she added as an afterthought.

"Whatever," Parker responded in a tone that said all was forgotten. He, like his father, was completely unable to stay mad at Brennan women for any length of time.

"So, what would you like to be, Chris?" Booth asked, finally joining the conversation.

"I want to be a football player," she said in the tone of voice that made it clear that it wasn't so much that she _wanted_ to be a football player as she was _going_ to be a football player and somebody better figure out how to make it happen.

Brennan looked over her daughter's head to Booth, waiting for his reaction. She had no problem with her daughter taking on what was typically a masculine identity, but Booth had a funny thing about gender roles and she wasn't sure what he'd say about this.

"Well, I think we still have some of Parker's old gear from when he was your size. It'll be up in the attic, if we do. If you help me look for it, you can go as a football player for Halloween. Sound good?" Booth asked his oldest daughter.

"Sounds great, daddy!" she squealed as she jumped up to wrap her arms around his neck.

Brennan smiled. She knew that Booth would probably not be okay with her playing football—he was already mad that Brennan had signed Chris up for hockey lessons as soon as she had asked, without discussing it with him first—but it was nice to see he was willing to at least let her dress up as a football player. "Well, now that that's settled, what would you like to be Dani?" she asked, turning to her youngest.

"I want to go as a _Coccinella septempunctata_," she said slowly, as if sounding out the words as she spoke them.

Booth looked to Brennan with complete confusion. Clearly this was some science thing that he would never be able to explain.

"A ladybug, huh?" more to Booth than to Dani.

"Yep, Uncle Jack taught me the name," she explained, knowing instinctively that her parents would be curious.

"Well, that was very nice of him," Booth told his daughter while glaring at Brennan. She could almost hear him in her head, saying that their kids were turning into squints.

"Well, I think it's time to eat," Brennan announced, hoping to avoid another bickering match with Booth over their kids and science. Normally, she would have been all for it, and their kids would have joined in, laughing, but she was pregnant and eating for two—and the baby was in no mood to wait any longer for food. Thankfully, Booth took the very obvious hint and they sat down to a nice family meal.

* * *

Later that night, after the kids had all been sent to bed, Booth and Brennan met up on the sofa in the living room, Booth with a beer and Brennan with a mug of hot chocolate. Booth wrapped his arm around Brennan and kissed her forehead as she leaned into him. "You know," he started softly, "I was thinking about what Dani said earlier today about her Halloween costume and it gave me another reason to get married."

Brennan eyed her partner skeptically, "What does _Coccinella septempunctata_ have to do with marriage?"

"Is it that hard to just say lady bug, Bones? I mean, really?" Booth asked, getting momentarily sidetracked.

"Well, no, of course not, but that would be inaccurate," she explained. "There are several species of lady bug and the one to which our daughter was referring was the _Co_—"

"Yeah, yeah, ok I get it. Anyway, as I was saying, it got me thinking. Jack," he stated.

Brennan was silent for a minute, unsure whether he was done speaking or if he had more to offer. When he remained silent himself, she decided to speak. "What about him?"

"Think about it. We get married, and think of how nuts it would drive him."

"I fail to see what our marriage, nuts, cars and Jack have to do with each other," Brennan responded, thoroughly confused.

"It's a saying, it means he'd be really confused and go a little crazy over it," Booth explained.

"Why would he go a little crazy over us getting married?"

"A world-class forensic anthropologist author who, as a rule, does not believe in marriage in any form, suddenly gets married to a government stooge?" Booth asked, excitedly. "It'd rival the JFK conspiracy in his mind. You'd have to be brain washed, or drugged, or your brain would have to be traded with a monkey brain for that to happen. He'd go insane!"

Brennan looked at Booth like he was the one who was insane. "First, it's a scientific impossibility at this point to switch my brain with a monkey brain. Second, if I was drugged, you'd be hard pressed to get me to function enough to get married. Third, I'd have to be brainwashed to go along with that crap! Seriously? You want us to get married because it will force Jack to come up with another conspiracy theory? If anything, that'd be a reason NOT to get married."

Booth just looked at her in resignation. "So it's a no-go, huh?"

"I'd say so, yes," she responded with a small smile.

"Well, it was a funny reason, at least," Booth said with a smile, showing that he wasn't too upset—or even surprised—at her negative response.

"It was that," she agreed. "But seeing his reaction is not a valid reason for getting married."

"I still think it'd be worth it," he said jokingly.

Brennan rolled her eyes and turned on the TV.

* * *

TBC


	7. Sweets

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Bones. Unfortunately for my bank account...**

**A/N: Ok, here's chapter 7. Sorry it took me a little longer than usual. Grad school and being a TA have been kicking my butt lately. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think!**

* * *

"Guys, we're not done here," Sweets almost whined at his two patients.

Booth shut the office door behind him as he and Brennan left their counseling session early. Fortunately for them, Brennan's father had called her, just to say hello, without realizing they were in a session. It provided just the excuse they needed to leave. He watched Brennan walk ahead of him explaining why she called her father "Cam" and said they'd be at the crime scene shortly. His eyes raked her figure and smiled. She was just starting to show her pregnancy and while she had left her morning sickness behind in the first trimester, her weird cravings continued. If this pregnancy was anything like her other two, her taste buds were going to be off for the duration. With Thanksgiving coming up later in the week, Max was probably calling to make sure that he had whatever random foods she was craving this week on hand.

"Ok, Dad. We'll get there around 10 on Thursday, unless you want us there earlier… Ok, see you then… Love you, too," Brennan got off the phone just as the couple got to the SUV.

"I bet you told him to have raw onions and fried eggs available, huh?" Booth said smiling.

"Well, he asked me what I'd like and I told him," Brennan replied defensively.

"I'm sure he did. He only wants you to be comfortable," Booth said soothingly, as he opened the passenger door for her.

She sighed and asked, "Diner?"

"Sounds good, Bones," he responded, giddy at the idea of pie in the middle of the afternoon.

* * *

When the two arrived at the diner, they were shocked to see that their therapist had beat them there. Brennan sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked over to the table, sitting down in their usual booth, across from Sweets. "What are you doing here?" she asked curtly.

"Just having some pie," he said calmly.

Booth and Brennan exchanged looks then turned back to Sweets. They just stared.

After a short silence, Sweets spoke up, "Can I help you?"

Brennan just raised her eyebrow, knowing that he knew exactly what they were thinking and waiting for him to explain why he chose that particular moment to show up at _their_ diner and eat pie at _their_ booth.

While Brennan was just waiting, the wheels were turning in Booth's head. When he figured it had been silent long enough—and neither Brennan nor Sweets seemed inclined to break said silence any time soon—he turned to Brennan. "He's another reason," Booth said.

Sweet and Brennan both turned to him.

"Reason for what?" Sweets questioned.

At the same time, Brennan squawked, "What?"

Booth ignored Sweets and repeated himself to Brennan. "He's another reason. I mean, if we get married, maybe he'll finally leave us alone about our relationship. You know. It'll give him a whole new book to write and he'll be too busy with that to bug us."

Brennan and Sweets just stared at him—Sweets in confusion and Brennan in exasperation.

"Uh, guys?" Sweets asked, hoping to be clued in. When neither of his patients said anything, or even acknowledged his presence, he tried again. "What is this about marriage?"

Without breaking her eye contact with Booth, Brennan explained with some terseness, "Booth wants to get married. I don't. He keeps proposing with what he believes are valid reasons. So far it hasn't worked."

"It hasn't worked because she's pregnant and won't listen to logic," Booth explained, also without breaking eye contact.

Sweets cringed and started counting back from five… four… three… two… one…

"You ass!" Brennan shouted, ignoring the fact that they were in a public place. "I can't believe you think that my willingness to listen to logic is off just because I'm a little more hormonal than usual." By the end, she was practically shrieking. She pushed Booth off the bench they were sitting on and walked out of the diner, leaving Booth sitting on the floor and Sweets shaking his head.

"Dude," he said watching Booth stand up, "What the hell were you thinking?" When Booth just glared at him, he continued, "Even I've learned that you don't say crap like that to her when she's pregnant. And unlike you, I don't spend twenty-four hours a day with her." After Booth regained his composure and sat back down at the table—fully understanding that to follow his girlfriend now would probably result only in him getting shot with his own gun—Sweets asked, "What's this about proposing marriage?"

Booth realized he wasn't going to get out of explaining the situation to Sweets, either right now at the diner or later on in one of their counseling sessions, so he decided to get it over with. After telling him the story, Booth sat back and waited for the response. He wasn't let down.

"From the perspective of your shrink, I have to tell you that I believe this is probably related to your need to pay penance. You've always felt that you are guilty for certain sins, particularly the lives you took in the Army and as such you've always found ways to suffer for them. Facing her repeated rejections of what you believe to be an honorable life, you feel you're paying that penance. Perhaps in the hopes that if you suffer now, you'll spend less time in purgatory?" Sweets explained. Booth had long since admitted to his shrink his feelings of guilt over his days as a sniper and they had finally reached a point where both men were comfortable discussing it.

Booth shook his head. "However long I spend in Purgatory is up to the man upstairs, regardless of what I do or don't do here on Earth."

"Ok, then. Let's drop the 'psychobabble' as you call it. As your friend—" he paused, waiting for confirmation. When Booth nodded, Sweets continued, "As your friend, I have to say, are you crazy?"

Booth laughed and shook his head. "No, I'm not crazy. I'm just determined. You're partially right. I do view getting married as something that is part of an honorable life. And granted, we already have two kids together and a third on the way, but better late than never, right?" When Sweets just chuckled, Booth continued. "I love her. I always will. But my religion is important to me. And part of being a good Catholic is being married to the woman you're sleeping with. So maybe in part it is penance." Sweets raised a brow, but let Booth continue. "But not for my time in the army. It's penance for the fact that I'm living in sin. And maybe someday she might even say yes," he finished with a smile.

"So you're just going to keep asking and keep getting rejected and keep getting into fights as penance for living in sin?" Sweets asked, making sure he had this clear.

"That and the make-up sex is great," Booth said with a laugh.

"If Dr. Brennan heard you say that…" Sweets trailed off, neither of them really needing to vocalize the thought. "Well, anyway, I'm done here, so I'm going to go talk your partner down from her desire to murder you and I'll see you later."

"Sounds good. And thanks. I'd really like to actually make it to the make-up sex part."

Sweets shook his head and walked out of the diner.

* * *

Sweets found Brennan leaning against the SUV, with her arms wrapped around herself to ward off the cold. "You know, the diner is nice and toasty."

She looked over at him and said, "It might drop a few degrees if I go in there."

Sweets smiled, "Nice metaphor, Dr. Brennan. I'm guessing you're still a little angry?"

"Did psychology tell you that?" she snapped.

"No… The fact that your taking an aggressive stance, your brows are knit together, you're frowning, your eyes—"

"I get it," she muttered, interrupting him.

"He didn't mean it in a bad way you know. I'm not sure he really even meant it. It was just a knee-jerk response," Sweets tried explaining.

"I know. But he's kind of right. I mean, look at how I reacted when he claimed I wasn't being logical. I pushed him out of his chair. How is _that_ logical?" she whined.

"Well, it's not. But," he continued, forestalling any interruption, "you're pregnant, Dr. Brennan. There are all sorts of hormones running through your system in levels you aren't used to. You're more emotional. That trumps logic sometimes. You were like this with Dani and Chris, too, and as soon as you got through the first six months after giving birth you were totally back to normal. So don't worry about it so much."

Brennan sighed and looked defeated, so Sweets asked, "You gonna be ok?"

"Yeah, I just feel bad, because as annoyed as I get with all this, he keeps having to hear me reject him. And it's not that I don't love him, I just don't want to be married. To anyone," she cried out.

"Did you ever wonder why it's so important to him? Why he wants so badly to marry you?"

"Well, yes. It's because in his religion it's required for the kind of relationship we have," she explained.

"And why do you so badly want to _not_ get married?" he questioned.

"Because—"

"It's an antiquated social ritual," he cut her off, knowing exactly what she'd say. Brennan just looked at him. "Is that really so important to you that you'll make Booth suffer through constant rejection? You know he thinks he deserves the rejection as penance for the fact that he's 'living in sin' with you, as he puts it?"

Brennan shook her head, "But why does he think he needs to do that?" she asked, truly confused.

"Because to him, living with a woman in a sexual relationship—particularly one in which there are children—without marriage, is just plain wrong. He lives with you because he loves you, but he feels that he deserves to be punished for what he sees as a sin," Sweets explained.

Brennan sighed and looked towards the diner. When she looked back, there were tears in her eyes. "Well, what the hell am I supposed to do now?"

"Just think about it. If it's truly that important to you, then keep saying 'no.' But, if you think about it and it's not so bad, maybe you could consider saying 'yes' someday," he told her.

Brennan nodded and said, "Well, first I have to go and make sure he's not too mad about the pushing thing. And the yelling at him. And the storming out of the diner."

"Well, from what I hear, make-up sex is probably a great way to apologize," he said with a smirk and walked off.

Brennan wasn't sure whether to respond to him or just head into the diner. She called his name, but he ignored her, so she walked back into the diner. He did have a point. Make up sex would be a great way to apologize.

* * *

_**TBC...**_

**A/N: Yeah, one more thing. I'm leaving in a couple days for Florida for a week. I'll try to get one more chapter written and posted before I leave. I can't promise I'll be able to post while I'm there, so if I don't get something up before Friday, don't worry. I'll probably have the rest of the story (maybe another two or three chapters) written by the time I get back. So if not in the next couple days, I'll post on the 13th.**


	8. Book Sales

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine...

A/N: So I do have internet here in Florida so I will be updating. I've also just about finished the rest of the story (two chapters after this one), so it's just a matter of going through and cleaning them up, but updates will be pretty quick. This one's a little short, sorry about that, but the next two will be longer. Enjoy!

* * *

"Ugh," Brennan muttered and slammed the telephone down into its base. The loud noise startled Booth and Parker from their conversation about Parker's plans for Valentines Day with Hannah. They watched in amazement as she picked the telephone back up and slammed it down repeatedly while glaring at it. Both men continued to stare at Brennan—Parker with worry and Booth with amusement. Brennan looked over at them and snapped, "What?"

"Nothing," Parker replied quickly, even more worried. Brennan was not the type to have angry outbursts unless someone she cared about was in danger or hurt. Even when she was pregnant with his sisters her hormonal outbursts tended more towards tears rather than violent outbursts in which the poor innocent telephone was the victim. He glanced at his father and, seeing the amused expression on his face, decided to let his dad handle it and he walked out of the kitchen.

Booth just smirked, "Bad news?"

"My publisher's an idiot!" she replied in frustration. Which really meant that her publisher either wanted to do something that Brennan didn't like, or they wanted her to do something she didn't want to do.

"Really?" Booth asked, walking over and taking her in his arms. "What did they want?"

"They want to move the release date of my new book from July to April," she whined.

"Can they do that?" he questioned.

"Well since it was originally supposed to be released in April and they voluntarily moved it from April back to July in the first place, they can do whatever they want," she explained.

"Well, why did they move it in the first place?" he asked.

Brennan pulled away from him and looked at his face, trying to determine if he was joking or serious. When it appeared that he was serious, she looked down at her stomach and then back up at him. "I don't think having an eight month pregnant author waddling around and eating disgusting food combinations is really good for book sales," she said.

"Maybe, maybe not," he replied. "You know what would be good for book sales?" he asked seductively, pulling her back into his arms.

"What?" she asked with a smile.

"If the author were to marry her real life Andy Lister." Brennan pulled back and raised her brow at him, but didn't say anything. "What?" he asked innocently.

"Well, at least your reason isn't a person this time," she muttered.

"Huh?" he asked, unsure of what she was talking about.

"Every 'reason' you've given so far for marriage has been a person," she explained. When he just gave her a blank look, she continued. "Angela, Sweets, the kids, my dad, your mom. There's a common theme here."

"I never noticed that," he said to her thoughtfully. He really hadn't noticed that all his reasons for marriage were other people. He had just been throwing out the marriage proposals as situations came up that were appropriate. _I guess it's a testament to how much time we spend with other people that all my reasons are them_, he thought.

"Yeah, it's kind of annoying actually," she told him, interrupting his musings. "I mean, if two people are going to get married shouldn't the reasons be for themselves not other people?"

"Well, yeah. But, I didn't even realize that all my reasons were other people."

Before he could continue she spoke up, "And really, book sales is other people, too. I mean, getting married to please my fans? That's stretching it a bit don't you think? It's one thing to get married to get our parents and friends off my back but my fans have no say in my private life, so why would I get married to please them?"

"That's true, but it would benefit you, too," he said. "If you please your fans by getting married, your book sales go up. If your book sales go up, the publisher makes more money. If your publisher makes more money, you make more money. If you make more money then we have more money for the kids, for vacations, whatever else we can think of. So really, if you marry me, you'll make more money. It does benefit you."

"That's really stretching it, you know," she responded.

"Yes, but it's true. It's a process to get from Point A to Point B, but you can get there." When she remained silent, he whispered to himself, "Score one for Seeley Booth."

"Yeah, well, Seeley Booth may have scored one, but we're up to what? Six, Seven, for Temperance Brennan? You're still losing," she finished with a smile.

"Yeah, but I'm finally scoring. Which means pretty soon I'll win," he said confidently, walking towards the stairs to go finish his conversation with Parker.

"No you won't!" Brennan cried. "And you're NOT Andy Lister!!" she added and heard Booth laugh all the way up the stairs.


	9. Tax Time

A/N: Here it is, as promised. Second to last chapter, ladies and gentlemen. As always, let me know what you think--good, bad and ugly. I can take it. I think :)

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.

* * *

Brennan grabbed an apple off the counter in the kitchen as she opened the window over the sink. "Don't be too much longer you guys," she yelled to her three kids who were playing in the back yard. "I still need to check your homework and it's going to get dark soon." After hearing a chorus of "Yes, Mom," she decided to go in search of Booth. It was early April and warm, so she left the window open and walked—more like waddled with her eight month pregnant stomach—towards the office in the front of the house. She opened the double doors and saw her partner sitting in front of the computer. She watched as he put on his reading glasses—which he still hated to admit he needed—and started shuffling papers. "Hey," she said softly. "What are you doing?"

"Taxes," he responded sullenly. This was probably his least favorite thing to do—or it was at the moment because he was stuck doing them right now. He looked up at Brennan and smiled his best charming smile. Before he could even open his mouth, she spoke.

"Don't even bother asking. The answer is no. Same as last year." She knew Booth's feelings about doing taxes. She always had hers done as soon as she got all of her forms together. By mid-February she was done and just waiting for her deposits from the Federal Government and the District of Columbia. Her partner, however, never once finished his taxes before April. In fact, he was usually still working on them on April 15, hoping he'd manage to pull off finishing them before the midnight deadline. He'd taken to asking her to do his taxes and she always refused.

"Please?" he whined. "I'll love you forever," he added.

Brennan smirked at him. "First of all, loving me forever is impossible because eventually you'll die and you won't do much of anything after that. Second, you'll love me the rest of your life, regardless of whether I do your taxes for you or not, so there's really no incentive."

"I'll love you even more," he said it more as a question, hoping it might sway her. When she showed no signs of breaking, he sighed. "You know marriage would help us with this whole tax thing."

It had been a couple months since Booth had mentioned marriage and she had been thinking maybe he forgot. _Yeah, right. Seeley Booth, forget marriage? Not in this lifetime._ She looked over at him and smirked. "Really? Us? You mean you and the mouse in your pocket, correct? Because the only benefit I can see would be that you no longer have to do your taxes. I would do them for you."

"Well, yes that would be a benefit for me. But I was actually talking financially," he explained.

"Really?" she asked, genuinely interested in what he had to say. She made more than enough money, but any that could be saved and put away for either a rainy day or the kids was appreciated. "Are you sure? I mean I already have a lot of deductions."

"You do. But so do I. I've looked into it. I even talked to a professional tax guy about it. We'll probably be eligible for some more if we combine our incomes. Not to mention we'll be able to get bigger deductions for the ones we already have."

"Huh," was her only response. She had never really thought of it that way—had never even considered that there may be tax benefits to being married. "That's…" she couldn't find the words to admit he might have a point without him thinking he had won. "That's actually a logical reason to get married," she settled, sounding dumbfounded at the idea that Booth may have come up with a truly logical reason for marriage that she couldn't refute.

"Really?" Booth asked, equally dumbfounded that Brennan would admit it.

"Yes. Saving more money from taxes is financially logical. If marriage allows us to do that, then you are correct. Marriage would help us with our taxes."

"Yeah, and the rest of us with our sanity," Parker said as he and Chris came into the office. When the two adults just looked at him questioningly he continued. "We all know Dad would hand over the paperwork to you, Momma Bones. Which means he wouldn't be such a pain in the butt anymore from February to April. It would save the rest of us a lot of aggravation."

"Yeah, he wouldn't be such a grumpy pants," Chris added.

"I am not a pain in the butt or a grumpy pants!" Booth protested.

Parker, Chris and Brennan exchanged looks and then turned back to Booth. In unison they replied, "Yeah you are."

Booth shrugged. "Well, if you would do my taxes for me, like I ask EVERY YEAR, I wouldn't be such a pain in the butt," he responded reasonably.

"And if you would just focus and do your taxes as soon as you get the forms, you wouldn't be so frustrated right now," Brennan explained.

"You're right. I wouldn't be frustrated right now. I'd have been frustrated in February."

Parker just shook his head and laughed. "Dad, it's just a little bit of paperwork. You do it at the Bureau all the time. This really isn't much different."

"Except there are numbers involved!" he almost whined as he said 'numbers.'

Parker looked at Brennan. "Maybe you should just marry him. Put the rest of us out of our misery," he said, knowing his fathers strong dislike for numbers was never going to go away.

"I could just do his taxes for him. Then you'll be happy and I don't have to marry him," she responded.

"Yeah, but then we won't get those tax breaks," Booth said, cutting in. Then he went to hand her the stack of paperwork for his taxes.

Brennan backed away from him with a look of horror on her face. "What, exactly, are you giving those to me for?" She wanted nothing to do with his taxes at this point. She did her taxes. She was done. She was certainly not about to do somebody else's.

"You said you'd do my taxes for me," he explained.

"I most certainly did not! I said I could just do your taxes, so that you would stop being so annoying. Not that I would!" She cried.

Parker took this argument as a cue for him and his sister to leave. He was not getting caught in the middle of this one, especially since he sort of inadvertently started it. He took Chris's hand and walked out.

"Parker Booth, get your butt back here," Brennan called out. "You started this mess!"

_Yeah, definitely not sticking around for this_, he thought as he and his sister ran up the stairs laughing quietly. "Ah, homework, Ma. I got homework!" he called out as an excuse, then picked up the pace.

In the office, Booth was still holding out his paperwork to Brennan. She glared at him, "No. For the tenth time, NO."

"Please?" he said. "I'll—"

"Love me forever," she said cutting him off. "I know. Still not happening, honey."

As she walked out of the office and back towards the kitchen, she heard him call out, "Forever and ever?"


	10. And Baby Makes 6

**A/N: Alright, ladies and gents, here it is. The final chapter. It's a little longer, so enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately I'm still a broke grad student who doesn't own Bones.**

* * *

Brennan rolled over and stared at the red numbers on her bedside clock. 3:02. This was still way too early. She'd been awake for an hour and a half already, having early contractions. They were spaced about 20 minutes apart and her water hadn't yet broken so she wasn't overly concerned. She wanted Booth and the kids to get as much sleep as they could before she woke them up to go to the hospital. She would also have to wake Angela and Hodgins, who would then come to the hospital to pick the kids up and take them back to their house. That was just too many people inconvenienced to bother waking up yet. She moaned as another contraction hit. She hadn't been paying attention to her body and hadn't expected it, so she couldn't keep quiet. She froze, hoping Booth hadn't woken up. When he didn't say anything, she relaxed.

"What's wrong?" he asked in voice still tinged with sleep, startling a squeak out of her. "Are you okay?" he asked, more awake now.

"Umm…" she wasn't sure whether she should tell him yet about the contractions.

"Temperance," he warned, knowing that she was about to lie.

"I might be going into labor," she finally said.

"Might be?" he repeated, knowing that Brennan didn't do 'might be.' She either was or she wasn't and he knew that she knew which it was.

"Well, I'm having contractions about 20 minutes apart, but my water hasn't broken, so it's not too bad."

"Not too bad?" he cried incredulously. "You're in labor! We're going to the hospital," he said, jumping out of bed to get dressed.

"Booth, it's three in the morning. It's going to be several more hours before anything happens. Why not get some more sleep?" she said calmly.

"Sleep? You really think I'm going to get sleep right now?"

"Well, maybe not, but the kids and Angela and Hodgins are sleeping."

"Not for much longer, they aren't," he replied reaching for his cell phone as he pulled on a shirt.

Brennan grabbed the cell phone before he could get to it. "It's not time yet."

"Look crazy lady, you're IN LABOR! I'd say that means it's time. You know, when Chris was born, you had one minor contraction and begged me to take you to the hospital because 'who knows what kind of complications could happen.' Now you're having obvious contractions and you don't want to go because you don't want to wake people up? You're insane! And we're going to the hospital," he said, grabbing his cell phone out of her hand and leaving the room to wake everyone up.

* * *

When the family reached the hospital, a nurse came over with a wheelchair for Brennan. When Brennan glared at the object, Booth ordered, "Sit." For once, she listened—although not without rolling her eyes. Booth turned to his three kids and before he could say anything, Parker spoke up.

"I'll stay with the girls out here and wait for Aunt Ange and Uncle Jack," he told his dad as he handed over Brennan's bag. "Don't worry about a thing. Go be with Bones and our baby sister or brother," he finished with a smile. Booth and Brennan always waited until the baby was born to find out it's sex because despite not liking surprises anywhere else in her life, Brennan liked being surprised when she first saw her babies. Parker thought it was weird, but this was Brennan, so what should he expect?

Booth nodded at his son, amazed at how mature he had become. He was incredibly smart and protective of his sisters. He was also protective of Hannah, who—similar in attitude to Brennan—always told him to can it, but he never did and despite the bickering she loved it. Booth smiled once more at his son before following his partner to her room.

Angela ran into the waiting room just as Booth walked out so she ran over to Parker. "Is she ok? How bad is it? Is she in a lot of pain?"

"Calm down Aunt Ange. She's fine. I can't imagine she's in a lot of pain since she was yelling at Dad the whole way here about how we could have waited until people woke up naturally. So it's not too bad for her, but Dad might have a tough time on his hands dealing with her," he said with a smile.

Angela smiled at her surrogate nephew. She had known him for most of his life and every day he reminded her more and more of his father. Always in control, but always having a soft spot for those he cared about. "Ok," she said, turning to include the two girls in the conversation. "Do you three want to stay here or go home and take a nap before coming back?"

"We're staying," all three said in unison.

* * *

"It's okay, baby. Just breathe," Booth said.

Brennan glanced over to the nurse in the corner, who was clearly having a hard time not laughing. "Booth, I'm not even having a contraction. I'm fine! I swear, you'd think you'd never done this before."

"I just want to make sure you're comfortable," he explained.

She shook her head and said, "I'd be more comfortable if I thought you were sane throughout this process."

"Ok, you're right. I'm good."

She and the nurse both looked at him with expressions that were clearly unsure as to whether to believe him.

* * *

"Ok, Tempe, I need you to push when I tell you to, alright?" the doctor said.

She grunted in affirmation.

Booth looked down at his partner. She was sweaty and tired and in pain, but she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. "It's gonna be okay, baby. You're doing great."

"I hate you!" was her response.

Booth was used to that by now. She always said that during labor. Especially this time, since it had been a whopping 15 hours since they got to the hospital after relatively short labors for the other two kids, he could understand it. He had never experienced childbirth—which he thanked God for everyday—but he knew it couldn't be comfortable. "I love you, too, sweetheart," he said in response.

"PUSH!" the doctor yelled.

Brennan started pushing and groaned as she did so. She was holding onto Booth's hand and was beyond ready for this to be over. She loved her daughters, and would love this baby just as much. But she did not at all like this whole giving birth bit. Not at all.

"Once more, Tempe," the doctor told her. "We can see the head, now."

Brennan pushed one more time and the pain receded. There was silence in the room for a few seconds and all of a sudden the wail of a newborn could be heard. Brennan sighed and leaned back. She looked over at Booth and he kissed her. "I'm so proud of you," he whispered.

"Would you like to see your son, now?" the nurse asked.

"Son?" Booth asked.

The nurse nodded and handed the baby to Brennan. Brennan smiled down at the baby boy lying in her arms. "Welcome to the world Tyler Booth," she said to the baby. They had picked out a name for a boy and a name for a girl. Instead of a Marissa, they got a Tyler. Brennan looked up at Booth and they both smiled.

* * *

After the nurse took Tyler to the nursery and Brennan was allowed to clean up, everyone was allowed in to visit her. Angela, Jack, and the kids came in, followed by Cam, Sweets and Wendell—who after much deliberation had been chosen to replace Zack. They only stayed for a few minutes to give their congratulations, as Brennan was clearly very tired.

After walking them out to the waiting room, Booth returned and sat down on the bed next to Brennan. "I have a present for you," he said softly.

"Yeah?" she asked, tiredly.

"Yeah, here. Open it." He handed her a small black box that clearly contained some piece of jewelry.

She opened the box and gasped. Inside the box was a necklace. It was a large silver filigree pendant with a sapphire in the center of it. The pendant was on three ribbons, pale blue, royal blue and black. "Booth, it's beautiful."

"It was my great grandmothers. She left it to my mom, who gave it to me. She didn't have any daughters of her own but considers you family. She wanted me to give it to you. I've had it for awhile, but I wanted to give it to you today." She opened her mouth to say something, but he stopped her. "I want you to know, that I love you. Completely, no matter what. I've realized that, as cheesy as it sounds, maybe love is all we really need. I know that you get frustrated with my marriage proposals and I don't want to keep proposing if it's going to drive you away. And with a newborn baby and three older kids, we have a lot of other things to deal with besides me pestering you non-stop. So I want you to know, I'm done proposing. I know you don't want to get married, and I've come to terms with that. I'll take you any way I can get you, Bones. Since I can't give you a wedding band, I wanted something that meant a lot to me and my family so that even if other people can't see that you belong to a family, you know you do."

"Booth, wow. That's, just… That's really sweet. I mean, really. I love you too, and this necklace is amazing. It means so much that you want to give me this. I have something I want to give you too, though." He looked at her questioningly. "Can you go and get my overnight bag?" she asked him.

"Sure," he said. He went over to the corner and picked up the small duffle bag and handed it to Brennan.

She rifled through it for a moment before pulling out a small box and handing it to Booth. He looked down at what appeared to be another jewelry box. He looked at her questioningly. "Open it," she said.

He opened the box and was surprised to see two silver bands. One was slightly larger than the other—obviously a man's ring and a woman's ring. The both had the same Celtic pattern around them—a matching set. If he didn't know any better, he'd say they were wedding bands. He looked over at Brennan waiting for an explanation.

"I know you said you were giving up on marrying me, because you didn't want to push me away. Well, I'm telling you that it wouldn't push me away. I think that maybe marriage is a good idea and if we have a small, non-religious wedding I wouldn't mind it. It might be kind of fun to have a small wedding." She realized she was babbling and stopped talking. When Booth didn't say anything, she decided maybe she needed to be a little more obvious. "I guess what I'm saying is, will you marry me? I mean, if you've really changed your mind—"

"Of course!" he cut her off. "I'd love to marry you. But are you sure about this?"

"Yes. Let's get married," she said, finally giving in to what he'd wanted for so long. "Oh, and you might want to read the inscriptions," she added, with a smile.

He pulled out each ring and read the inside. The woman's ring said "Breaking the Laws of Physics." The man's ring said "Property of Bones." He laughed out loud and then leaned in and kissed her. "Now you can finally be Mrs. Booth," he said with a smile.

"I said I'd marry you. I never said anything about changing my name," she retorted.

He just smiled and said, "We'll see."

* * *

**A/N: Let me know what you all thought--of this chapter, of any other chapter, of the story in general. I haven't had any lightning bolts lately in regards to what I'll write next, so it might be a bit before you hear from me again. I also haven't discounted writing a sequel to this, so we'll see where my muse takes me. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed this story and added it (or me) to your favorites lists and alerts. And thanks for sticking with it!**


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